This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Heat exchangers such as those used to cool internal combustion engines typically include a core, an inlet tank, and an outlet tank. The inlet tank includes an inlet port and is fixedly mounted to a first side of the core to define an inlet reservoir. The outlet tank includes an outlet port and is fixedly mounted to a second side of the core to define an outlet reservoir. The core includes a plurality of tubes that extend between the first and second sides of the core to fluidly couple the inlet and outlet reservoirs. Typically a plurality of fins extend between the tubes to aid in transferring heat from a fluid (e.g. coolant fluid) flowing through the tubes to a fluid (e.g. air) flowing between the tubes.
In some applications, the tubes extend freely into the inlet and outlet reservoirs. In other applications, the tubes terminate abruptly at an end plate of the core. These abrupt transitions from the relatively large volume of the inlet and outlet reservoirs into and from the tubes can result in large pressure drops across the heat exchanger.